Things to see in Miami

This elegant Mediterranean-style residential district, 16km (10 miles) southwest of downtown Miami, was created by local developer George Merrick during the boom years of the 1920s. Coral Gables is best known for its art galleries, the exclusive Miracle Mile shopping street, its golf courses, fine hotels and restaurants. It also contains some of the city's finest architecture, set amid broad boulevards, canals and parkland. Some buildings are preserved as historic landmarks, including the stunning Biltmore Hotel, and the Venetian Pool, at 2701 De Soto Boulevard - the only swimming pool on the National Register of Historic Places, transformed from a mere rock quarry in 1923.

This magnificent 33-hectare (83-acre) botanical garden is located just south of Coconut Grove. It contains extensive collections of rare tropical plants, a 1,440-sq-m (16,000-sq-ft) conservatory, 11 lakes and lily ponds, and a rainforest exhibit, set among a waterfall and stream. A variety of educational programmes and narrated tram tours are available.

Linked to the mainland by the Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne combines traditional Florida-style houses with ostentatious mansions belonging to some of Miami's wealthiest residents. The beaches here rank among Florida's best - their fine sand and relatively calm seas make them a popular choice for families. Other top attractions include two beautiful parks (Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park and Crandon Park) both with magnificent beaches, bike trails and nature walks. Bill Baggs is home to the Cape Florida Lighthouse, built in 1825. The small Crandon Family Amusement Center in the park has an old-time carousel, playground and outdoor roller rink.

Miami Beach is located on a long slender island connected to mainland Miami by four main causeways. It comprises various coastal towns, each with its own personality - including Surfside, the upscale shopping district of Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles Beach, South Beach and Golden Beach. Miami Beach's white sands extend from Lincoln Road Mall northwards to 87th Street, with a scenic boardwalk popular with joggers and strollers, and pastel-coloured art deco lifeguard stations dotting the shoreline. A variety of watersports are available, including windsurfing, sailing, jet-skiing and parasailing. Little Havana After Fidel Castro took power in 1959, refugees fleeing Cuba settled just west of downtown Miami, in a neighbourhood known as Little Havana. Today, with its 800,000-strong Cuban-American community, this colourful district has a distinctly Latin atmosphere with its Spanish signs, Cuban coffee bars and restaurants, small cigar factories and street-side food stalls, selling such delicacies as baho (Cuban stew) and freshly squeezed juices. Monuments to anti-Castro Cubans line the streets, especially around Calle Ocho (Eighth Street), the liveliest part of Little Havana and the venue for the Calle Ocho Festival, a famous annual spring carnival - America's largest street party.

Located on beautiful Biscayne Bay, the Miami Seaquarium has over 10,000 aquatic creatures on display - including crocodiles, alligators and seals, as well as fish of every imaginable shape, size and colour. Star acts include Lolita, a 7,000-pound killer whale, Salty the sea lion and TV superstar Flipper the dolphin. The in-house Marine Mammal Rescue Team also strives to preserve and protect stranded or injured manatees, dolphins and whales in the waters of South Florida. See their work in the mangrove habitat of Discovery Bay - used to rehabilitate rescued sea turtles; and the Manatee Exhibit where manatees are nursed back to health, ready for release into the wild.

Vizcaya is a beautiful Italian Renaissance-style palace set in four hectares (10 acres) of picturesque formal gardens, south of downtown Miami on Biscayne Bay. Built as a winter residence for the Chicago industrialist James Deering in 1916, the mansion is modelled on neo-classical designs and its 70 rooms are filled with antique furnishings spanning the 15th to 19th centuries. Tours are available.